Member of the European Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion

Dear colleagues

the European Board  of Cardiovascular Perfusion (EBCP) welcomes you to join in and support  the efforts to improve and to harmonize Perfusion Education and Training throughout Europe. Since the foundation of EBCP in 1991, the processes of the accreditation of Perfusion Education and Training Programmes and the certification of Cardiovascular Perfusionists have been very successfully implemented.

Virtually every national society or association for Cardiovascular Perfusionists has delegates to EBCP and takes part in the above mentioned programmes. It is the national organizations that form the base for successful training of new graduates. EBCP is providing a tool to establish a framework for European cooperation and for facilitating the free movement of Cardiovascular Perfusionists within Europe.

Together with our partnering organizations, namely the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiologists (EACTA), good progress has been made in establishing a platform for the exchange of new ideas. The result of this progress can be witnessed at the annual Perfusion Education Conferences.

We would like to welcome all interested European Cardiovascular Perfusionists to get involved and join our efforts.

Frank Merkle

EBCP General Secretary

Dear colleagues

At the EBCP board meeting in Geneva in September 2007, I was elected chairman of the board. I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your trust and support. It is not an easy task to succeed Professor Dietrich Birnbaum in this position. I would like to thank him for his relentless commitment to the EBCP and for introducing me to the work of the board.

My current position is that of a consultant and professor in cardio-thoracic surgery at the Trondheim University Hospital in Norway. I have had and still have a strong scientific interest in different aspects of perfusion.

Since its foundation in 1991, the EBCP has come a long way in establishing accreditation of perfusion education and certification of Perfusionists in Europe. In recent years new member countries have joined the European Union and even more countries seek a closer collaboration with European institutions. It is my belief that the dialogue with these countries will represent an important part of the work of the board in the near future. We have to address these issues with an open mind and work towards an exchange of ideas and knowledge.

I am looking forward to serve the board to achieve its goals and hope that my efforts will contribute to a continuation of previous successes.

Prof. Alexander Wahba MD

EBCP-Chairman